Digital Smarts - Avoiding a Dangerous Scam on Facebook – “Like” Farming

It’s not an uncommon sight as you’re scrolling through your Facebook news feed: a friend shares a heartbreaking photo, accompanied by a post that pleads with users to “like,” “comment” or “share” in order to raise money or awareness for a person in need. But scammers who use “like-farming” tactics can take advantage of a Facebook user’s interaction to either collect and sell information about that user or use it as a gateway to collecting more personal information — like passwords or credit card numbers.

Though it’s sometimes difficult to determine which posts are real and which are fake, there are a few simple clues that these “like-farming” posts have in common:

• They claim someone has cancer or another serious disease and needs money for surgery.
• They claim Facebook “has decided to help” by donating a certain amount of money for “likes,” “comments” or “shares.”
• They typically ask a Facebook user to comment “Amen” at the end of the post.

So, next time you see a post with a heart-wrenching photo that catches your eye, look for these signs before responding. And if you suspect the post is a scam, report it to Facebook immediately.